Heretofore, voice mail (or voice messaging) systems have been provided to store voice messages from calling parties when the called party cannot pick up the telephone. This occurs as a result of either the called party not being in proximity of their telephone, or, when they are on another line, and cannot break off the conversation in time to retrieve another call. When this happens, the calling party is generally prompted to leave a message.
The alternative to reaching the called party, other than voice mail, has been to either find another individual who will attempt to locate the party, either by overhead paging and/or by searching for the individual. In both cases this is time consuming, disruptive, and inefficient. In some areas, "outdoor" paging has been regulated and is illegal due to the noise pollution created. Also, in after hours situations, where others may not be available to perform the manual intervention described above; thus important or emergency calls are unanswered.
Frequently, individuals are away from their primary telephone (e.g.; meetings) or are normally situated in places where telephones are not readily accessible to their work areas (e.g.; warehouses or manufacturing areas). Callers, both internal and external, need access to these individuals in order to communicate immediately with such individuals, or at least attempt to do so.
Traditional paging systems require the caller to directly dial a remote paging service to leave a one way message, or, through the private branch exchange (PBX) or voice mail system, cause these devices to initiate the call to the paging service, and leave the message. This external notification process requires the acquisition of a paging server and fees for each subscriber of the service. Allowing for the storage of a voice message is not provided, unless, in some instances, additional expensive systems (i.e.; paging servers) are acquired which provide for such storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,703 discloses a communication system which includes voice mail, fax, e-mail, telephone, and paging systems integrated into a PBX environment. However, the system utilizes a remote, outside paging service, and the subscriber's pager notifies the subscriber whether an e-mail, voice mail, or fax message awaits.
Heretofore, the prior art has not provided a suitable private telecommunicator system that does not require an outside, subscriber based paging service, and which is flexible in that the called party can have the option of picking up a call, and require a return call.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a suitable integrated system wherein a local area pager is utilized with a private branch exchange and voice mail system so that a called party may be notified that they may have a call and answer the call, if desired, (when at or away from their telephone) in a manner which is both inexpensive and effective, and does not require subscription to an outside pager service.